This is a thing, and its based on a similar car.
Started out with a built 1640cc VW motor, ended up with a Mazda 13B rotary.
Years later, he offered it to me for free. I turned it down.
Costs about $800K USD, which is a few tens of millions less than the real thing. Apparently you also see the GTO cars racing in the classic races, as a stand in when the owner owns the real thing.
As an aside, I think the 250TR is one of the absolute prettiest cars ever built. Prettier even than the 250GTO. I'm equally unlikely to own either though.
I wouldn't expect them to handle like a modern vehicle, and that's before the lack of crumple zones
Like more than you can imagine.
A Metlij just at cruise power, not even max, will drink 60-70 gallons per hour.
Avgas is $7/gal, and also not even high enough octane for a Merlin.
You’d be at $500/hr just in gas.
Undoubtedly in the many millions of dollars per unit purchase price category, so a whole other thing than something that's cheaper than a Cirrus SR22.
He built "The fastest single engine turbine plane in the world"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pUpJz6QbBk
It was "only" just over 1000hp.
It didn't end well (but at least nobody died):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swo_FHGkfCM
I'm 100% certain "full military power" aircraft are well outside the set of compromises general aviation pilots are prepared to accept. (And probably outside what the FAA would allow you to build and fly?) I wonder what the service 8intervals were on a 1490hp Mustang? (Did they even bother with "service intervals" on planes that probably didn't come home often enough to make it to the 2nd service?)
"For some airplanes, such as the P-51D, use of WEP [war emergency power] required that the engine be inspected for damage before returning to the air.[4] 5 hours' total use of WEP on the P-51D required a complete tear-down inspection of the engine.[4]"
Considerably more than a mere 1500hp, though, by at least some accounts. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_emergency_power
No idea why that old story came to mind just now. He wasn't hurt, if anyone's wondering. Of course, it was a pretty shallow ditch.
Still quite an achievement, but would be nice to see a more authentic engine option.
It's got comparable performance to a Cirrus SR22. Not much of a replica if you ask me.
Also, even with modern jets: "This plane has enough power at max or mil" - said no fighter pilot ever.
It's also fair to say that you probably don't want to climb into anything driven by a 'good enough for the Army'-rated engine.
At least, I know I wouldn't.
Though being a 2-seater, this makes the silhouette slightly different from the later variant P-51 everyone is familiar with.
I know real P-51 are sometimes used for acrobatics and air shows, I suppose this replica is just for looks and cannot pull any real acrobatics, right?
Ouch. I mean it’s in line for new plane pricing but still, ouchie.
The more expensive "ready to fly" kit is more comparable to a Cessna 172 in price, though with more than double the range. But you still have to assemble most of it yourself, the "Ready to fly" version isn't actually ready to fly.
But really, a Bugatti P-100 replica would be right up my alley:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/Aviations-...
Closest thing it reminds me of on land is those Toyota MR-2 Ferrari 355 pseudo-replica cars. It's quite (a lot) slower than a P-51 but I think that's a smart choice. The performance is much more in line with the sort of thing your average GA pilot might be expected to handle. (I'm sure I remember reading or hearing about WW2 era pilots having enormous right thighs from stomping on the rudder to counteract p-factor, torque from those monster engines.)
So it's more like cosplay rather than a replica.
It's a different plane that sort of looks like the real Mustang from the outside (and the silhouette is not really identical either).
Cool, I guess, but not a replica.
